Reality Check (Winter Songs)

Those winter songs are written by liars - There's no such thing as open fires Or indoor trees with fairy lights Or mistletoe kisses on wintry nights. Those winter songs are written by liars - I've never heard those children's choirs Or seen the presents piled up high Or smelled a homemade Christmas pie. At night, I lie on my cardboard bed, A rolled-up newspaper under my head, My hands and feet as cold as snow Because there's nowhere else to go. No! Those winter songs are written by liars - There's no such thing as open fires Or indoor trees with fairy lights Or mistletoe kisses on wintry nights. Those winter songs are written by liars - I've never heard those children's choirs Or seen the presents piled up high Or smelled a homemade Christmas pie. While half asleep I hear a voice say, Please come to us on Christmas day A woman with a smiling face Is telling me about a place With comfy clothes and comfy bed A kitchen with a table spread With homemade food for me to eat And wooly socks to warm my feet And children singing by a tree With presents, even one for me. I went with her that Christmas eve And saw things my eyes could not believe They took me in, they welcomed me And treated me like family. That night, I lay on the spare room bed, A squashy pillow under my head, My belly full, my body warm And sheltered from the outside storm And in that moment, lying there, I suddenly became aware: Those winter songs, it seems, are true Just not for me, but they are for you. So when winter brings the cold and ice Be thankful you live somewhere nice.